High School to Housewife...the Reception.

One on my favorite memories was my dear sweet Grandpa Red who actually came! He didn't do social gatherings like weddings and I was so excited and honored that he actually came and congratulated us at the reception!! He has since passed away. Sniff Sniff....

"Honored Guest"

What would a reception be without food, right? We served croissant sandwiches and some really yummy salads. Several salads were made my close family members and we were able to pull together a nice reception dinner potluck style kinda. It was quite good and we had plenty of food amazingly. We had a pretty good turn out especially considering there was a 15 mile drive from the church to the reception. The reception was at my parents ranch where I grew up.

On our reception tables we had live goldfish in small glass bowls and several people got to take them home to their fishponds. We even had several for ourselves, 2 lived for 10 years in our pond!!! It seemed to be a huge hit for a centerpiece.

Maybe too big of a hit.....

I wonder what he's planning to do once this cake is cut? Be nice Mr Wonderful......of course I am sure he thought about it but he was a gentleman when the time came to feed each other wedding cake....he had me worried with that look though.


We opened gifts and we were so incredibly blessed by our loved ones!

After a long day of family and fun we finally headed to our first home........for our first night of married bliss!

High School to House Wife....We Were Wed...

Our wedding day was magical....as I hope most are! Everything came together so easily and beautifully. So many special people showed up to show their love and support. I was so excited to see so many that had come.

The night before the wedding, my maids of honor stayed the night with me and we stayed up late talking and getting prettied up for the big day. Just before the ceremony I was starting to feel a little iffy in the stomach. I had not eaten much and I was starting to feel sick from lack of food. So I asked someone in the bride room to go get me some saltine crackers and gatorade from the store to help calm my stomach. What was I thinking not eating enough anyway? It had been such a busy day I guess it slipped my mind. I felt relatively calm aside from the fear of puking somewhere inappropriate like say....in front of hundreds. I hear Mr Wonderful was a little nervous in his room though......was it because he heard his bride was sick to her stomach? (as in cold feet? Which wasn't the case I assure you.).......When the food arrived I found out it was Mr Wonderful who had ran to the store for me and got me what I needed. Was that not the sweetest thing? Gulp....I am getting all tingly just thinking about it.

As I look towards my groom and we see each other for the first time this special day....I am giddy. Does my dad look TOO eager to give me away? Hey wait a minute!

Can anyone guess what he's thinking? Kinda looks like he's thinking about later that night huh?

"Good Trade"

"Sealin' The Deal!"

"Yes!"

High School to Housewife....Proposals in the Dark.

I am about to share with you the story of Mr Wonderful's proposal. We had been dating about 1.5 years and I was more than ready, I was fast approaching 18 and I could not wait to spend my life with him! I had graduated a year early from high school and attended 1 year at a community college. I really only wanted to be a wife and mother to his babies. That was all I ever dreamed about growing up, I had no desires to be a working woman or even get a degree (to this day I still have no idea what I would be interested in if and when I do go back to college). I am madly in love and feelin' impatient I kept thinking...."I know he has a ring, I am pretty sure, or at least I think so." I am just waiting, and waiting and waiting some more...and as you all know I was born with a devastating birth defect....I was missing my ability to be patient.

So it was my 18th B-Day and Mr Wonderful took me out for a beautiful night. He drove me up on a secluded ridge (I still have no idea if this was public or private land) anyway here we are driving out onto the point of a rugged ridge just as the sun is starting to set. It is bumpy and rough and uncomfortable.....the suspense is killing me...I think to myself.. "Is this the night? Is he going to propose, something is up here?"

Mr Wonderful finally parked his pick-up and turned on some romantic music (I should mention that he had this amazing sound system complete with subwoofer that I particularly found personally moving in a raging hormone kinda way). Anyway the music is set, the sun is falling, he gets out some stemware fancy glasses from his toolbox somewhere (do you KNOW what kind of yucky, dirty stuff they normally keep in men's truck toolboxes?....ignore that) anyway he has sparkling cider. He pours me some and we take a nice stroll towards the sunset glasses in hand.....the light is beautiful and romantic. Again that darn suspense is getting to me....actually it never went away. All the questions flooding my mind. "Is he really going to propose?" I think to myself "I am 18 now, it is safe to go ahead anytime, really." We chat, we laugh, I start to get impatient, I try not to let Mr Wonderful know just how devoid of patience I really am. The suspence I tell you.

Just then he turns to face me and gently strokes my cheek and looks deep into my eyes......(my knees go all wiggly) he starts to say how much he loves me and how much I have given him and how his heart needs me to be complete and just how much he looks forward to a life with me. With that he dropped down on his knee and took out a velvet box and asked me so sweetly with tears in his eyes to marry him. I of course said "Yes, I love you of course YES!!!" He put the ring on and I was so excited, we hugged and over his shoulder I was trying to hold up my hand to see the ring....but by this time it is dark...too dark to even really SEE the ring! I had no idea how big it was, the shape of it or anything! So I casually mentioned we better get back to the truck because it is dark and I am a big weany in the dark.

The minute we got to the truck I bailed into the jockey box whipped out the flashlight and gave it a click......."ah finally some light around here.".....I gave it a glance and WOW what a sparkler, it was more than I could have dreamed of! I mean here I was 18, young naive, and so hopeful. It ended up that he had done a fabulous job picking out my ring all on his own...he only asked me a few vauge questions and went with it. He ended up getting me an oval cut, slightly bigger than a half carat solitare!!! I was grinning from ear to ear. I was completely in love with my man and all the way home I kept trying out the word "fiance"....I love that word.

There is more to the story, specifically how my parents reacted to the news as well as what comes after an engagement like wedding plans, weddings, honeymoons (yes plural, but it is not all it is cracked up to be), and babies.....lots of sweet babies.

So ladies tell your sons, "If you love her.......don't propose in the dark!" Unless of course you want to test the true depth of her love.

This was our engagement picture.

High School to Housewife.....why can't he SEE me THAT way?

I figure it is about time for the first chapter of High School to Housewife, don't you? Here it goes....

My Dad owns a construction/excavation company and he ran his business/shop from our ranch in the country. Mr Wonderful started working for our family business summer of 1991. I was the tender age of 13 at that time, he was 17. He had been working for us a few years when I started to notice what a strong, sweet guy he was.

It was always a good day for me when Mr Wonderful was working at the shop. He was funny, kind, manly, and he also had the most amazing butt! (I was 16 now and...these are serious requirements for a spouse). He wore Wrangler jeans better than any guy I knew and I made sure to sneak extra opportunities for a quick glance.

I was 16 when the first stages of infatuation hit. My brother was getting married and I flirted with Mr Wonderful who was the best man, he ignored me and played dumb to this notion that I had a major crush on him. I do remember I touched his hair once and I even got to touch the nape of his neck! I was perplexed by how thick it looked and how it never moved. It was very thick and very course almost like a brillo pad. I still have no idea why I would have been touching his hair but I am thinking it must have been some lame excuse to do with getting set to go down the isle for my brother's wedding or wedding photos or something. Here is a pic of Mr Uninterested/Mr Wonderful and Ornery Brother at his wedding.

Here is another pic of my brother and Mr Wonderful playing what we call HillBilly Golf, (golf in a pasture near the Middle Fork of the John Day River.) I rode over with my future sister-in-law for the day to bring hte guys some food while they were having a guys fishing trip. I took this pic, all the while drooling over Mr Wonderful....unfortunately at the time he was still Mr Uninterested.:(

At this time in my life I was very involved in showing my horse Bullet. After I would finish a training session in the arena I would find excuses to need to walk by on horseback past the shop doors. Then I would try to casually start a conversation or at the VERY least catch his attention. Now, I should point out that before I would head out to ride on days Mr Wonderful was working, I'd make sure to have my hair a little nicer and my make up done.....I'd try really hard to act unaffected by his presence and I'd be walking by on my horse trying to catch the eye of the illusive "Mr Uninterested".

Now one saving grace for me was that "Mr Uninterested" did not seem interested in anyone. He had not had a serious girlfriend and I was hoping that when he finally noticed girls I would be the one he noticed.

He'd say "Hi" or something nice but it was like he didn't even see me, he was friendly but that was it! This was quite perplexing to me.....I really wanted him to see me in a different way if you know what I mean. He just wouldn't. If he saw me at all it was in a little sister way.....ugh! I guess it makes sense because he was my brother's best friend but still I had to figure out a way to get him to see me for something more...but how?

Now a quick note, I openly had this crush on him, turns out one of my friends had a chrush on him as well! She had the advantage of living next door to him. UGH, this was bad news, very bad news......she actually did have luck convincing him to take notice of her. She was one year older than me. It was about a month long dating experience and she dumped him for some short kid with a face like a pizza. She said something about the pressures of both their mothers wanting to plan their wedding after date one...she ran, and I can't blame her with all that pressure so early on! This did not do wonders for Mr Wonderful's dating confidence and eagerness to try again. That did not detour me much though.

The chase was on.......

On This Day 13 Years Ago.....

I was nervous, I was giddy, I was impatient, all this for the rumbling arrival of a blue chevy pick-up, and a handsome Mr Wonderful driving it. It was our very first date! He finally agreed to go on a date. I can't spoil any chapters from High School to Housewife but I wanted to celebrate this special occasion with you all. It is really hard to believe that 13 years ago this all truely started.....now we have a great relationship, 4 great kids, a house and a whole beautiful life together! How time flies, seems like yesterday I was riding my horses and contemplating how to get his attention.

Coming soon... High School to Housewife......Why Doesn't He See Me That Way?

Makes My Heart Go...Pitter Patter.

Mmmm mmmm, nothing makes my heart go pitter patter like seeing Mr Wonderful holding a baby. Here are my "guys", I just really love them.

Mmmm mmm I love that man!